After leaving the collapsed Tang Clan Fortress, Dang Myeong pointed to a tent.
“Stay here for now.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong paused, looked at the tent, then looked at the perfectly intact halls visible off to the side.
“Because I’m a prisoner?”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Dang Myeong shook his head.
“The halls are housing the children and women.”
“Then what about you?”
At Wiji Cheong’s question, Dang Myeong pointed to the tent beside it.
“I’m staying here.”
“You are?”
Wiji Cheong looked at his own tent, then at Dang Myeong’s rather large one. Dang Myeong’s tent was bigger than his.
At that gaze, Dang Myeong shook his head and lifted the flap of his tent.
“Come in.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong stepped inside, only to furrow his brow. A terrible smell of sweat hung in the air.
“Wh-What is this?”
At Wiji Cheong’s startled words, Dang Myeong lifted the tent flap and said,“Twenty men are staying here. It’s a place where only men stay, so the smell can’t be helped.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong looked inside. There was nothing there. A single table stood in the middle, with a water jar on top of it.
Straw was spread out in long rows on both sides, with blankets laid over it.
That was...... everything.
“You sleep here?”
“Not just me. All the men of the main house stay in places like this.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong looked at him for a moment, then left the tent and opened the tent assigned to him.
Inside were a table and two wooden beds. Compared to the place where Dang Myeong was staying, it was excellent.
After staring inside the tent for a moment, Wiji Cheong sighed and came back out.
“I’ll stay in your tent too.”
“It will be difficult to endure.”
“I don’t care.”
“Suit yourself.”
After saying that, Dang Myeong looked at Dang Jinsu.
Dang Jinsu approached him.
“We have placed the foodstuffs and cloth in the warehouse.”
“Use the meat immediately as needed.”
“Understood.”
“And distribute the refreshments the children like.”
“We are already distributing them to the children.”
At Dang Jinsu’s words, Dang Myeong thought for a moment, then said,“Make a contract with a confectionery shop in Chengdu. Tell them to bring refreshments once every three days.”
“How much should we order?”
“How many children are there in the main house?”
“There are about fifty children aged thirteen or younger.”
“Then have them bring fifty servings once every three days. The children’s food must not be neglected.”
“Understood.”
After giving his instructions to Dang Jinsu, Dang Myeong moved on.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to look around the site.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong tried to follow after him, but Man Song said, “You should rest.”
At Man Song’s words, Wiji Cheong looked down at his own body and frowned. Then he looked at Dang Myeong.
“May I bring my clothes from the inn?”
“Do as you like.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong looked at him.
“What if I run away?”
“Then the Eldest Young Master of the Wiji Clan will have escaped.”
At Dang Myeong’s answer, Wiji Cheong stayed silent for a moment, then looked at Man Song.
“Old man, go and bring my clothes.”
“......Will you be all right?”
“I’ll be fine. Go.”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Man Song hesitated for a moment, then looked at Dang Myeong.
“Clan Lord, could you find someone to bring his clothes from the inn?”
“The main house has no spare hands.”
Dang Myeong looked at Wiji Cheong.
“If you’re worried about Wiji Cheong, the two of you may go together.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Man Song looked at Wiji Cheong. Under that gaze, Wiji Cheong looked back at Man Song.
“Old man, don’t embarrass me.”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Man Song sighed and performed a Cupped-Fist Salute.
“I will return.”
After Man Song turned and left, Wiji Cheong looked at Dang Myeong.
“Let’s go.”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Dang Myeong looked at him, then began walking and said, “You could have gone with him.”
“......They say, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win a hundred battles.”
“You mean you intend to inspect the main house?”
“If you won’t show me, then fine.”
Dang Myeong moved on without saying anything.
Dang Myeong went to the construction site, checked the situation, and encouraged the workers.
***
Wiji Cheong stayed at the Tang Clan and lived alongside Dang Myeong. Dang Myeong’s daily routine was simple.
Before the sun rose, he began by sparring with the experts of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Once the sparring ended, he went around the morning construction sites and checked the schedule.
After lunch, he sparred with the experts again. Then he went around the construction sites once more and encouraged the workers.
After dinner, he sparred again, held a meeting with the Senior Members of the Tang Clan, and finished his day.
That was Dang Myeong’s routine.
At night, Dang Myeong was speaking with Dang Miryeong inside the tent that served as his office.
“How is Uncle Dang Jang?”
At Dang Myeong’s question, Dang Miryeong glanced at Wiji Cheong. Wiji Cheong was drinking tea off to one side.
“He is all right.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Dang Miryeong nodded and said, “He is in closed-door training, so I could not meet him.”
“May I take it that things are proceeding smoothly?”
“I believe you may.”
At Dang Miryeong’s words, Dang Myeong asked, “What about the other Unit Commanders?”
“They have passed the fifth stage.”
“The fifth stage......”
Dang Myeong thought for a moment, then said,
“Shouldn’t you enter closed-door training again as well, Aunt?”
“The Unit Commanders discussed it, and we decided that one person should remain at the main house. Once even one of the Unit Commanders reaches the sixth stage, they will come out, and I will enter closed-door training then.”
Dang Miryeong had reached the fourth stage of the Three Yang Divine Art and obtained the trait Greater Yang. The trait each person obtained differed, but since Dang Miryeong was someone who used hidden weapons, it seemed that Greater Yang, a trait that released energy, had awakened for her.
Among the Unit Commanders, excluding Dang Jang, Dang Miryeong had reached the fourth stage the fastest, and out of concern for the family, she had come out of closed-door training first.
And Dang Miryeong’s worry had proven prophetic, forcing her to face a Sword Master of the Wiji Clan.
Dang Myeong nodded at Dang Miryeong’s words and asked, “How much progress has there been in your martial arts?”
At Dang Myeong’s question, Wiji Cheong looked at Dang Miryeong with curious eyes. Dang Miryeong had defeated a Sword Master who ranked within the top ten of the Wiji Clan.
Naturally, he was curious.
[You may tell him the truth.]
At Dang Myeong’s voice transmission, Dang Miryeong looked at him for a moment, then said, “Compared to my former Martial Prowess, I have become about twenty percent stronger.”
“Twenty percent...... My own martial arts and experience are lacking, so it is difficult for me to understand exactly.”
At Dang Myeong’s question, Dang Miryeong thought for a moment, then said, “If I have enough hidden weapons, I can face around fifty first-rate experts.”
“That’s impossible!”
At Wiji Cheong’s startled words, Dang Myeong glanced at him. Under that gaze, Wiji Cheong closed his mouth.
But Wiji Cheong’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
Were fifty first-rate experts a joke? Even the armed forces of the Wiji Clan were composed of thirty first-rate experts and a few peak realm experts.
If Dang Miryeong’s words were true, didn’t that mean she alone could face an entire armed unit?
After looking at Wiji Cheong for a moment, Dang Myeong looked at Dang Miryeong.
“With hidden weapons?”
“Yes. As long as I have enough hidden weapons, I can subdue experts before they approach me.”
“That would be good when facing many opponents.”
“......Yes.”
As she spoke, Dang Miryeong’s face was gloomy. She could not shake the thought that if her skills had reached this level when the Demonic Cult invaded, she would have been a great help to the main house.
After looking at Dang Miryeong for a moment, Dang Myeong nodded.
“What about the skills of the other Unit Commanders?”
“All of them have improved.”
“I would like to hear it precisely.”
Then Dang Myeong looked at Wiji Cheong.
“Young Master Wiji is here, but I still wish to ask. Use a Sword Master as the point of comparison.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Dang Miryeong glanced at Wiji Cheong once and said, “There is no one among our Unit Commanders who would lose to a Sword Master.”
“That is a bluff!”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Dang Miryeong said nothing. And that silence carried an even stronger persuasion to Wiji Cheong.
Dang Miryeong looked at Wiji Cheong, then at Dang Myeong. At that gaze, Dang Myeong nodded.
“Until the Unit Commanders emerge, Aunt, please oversee the training of the unit members.”
“Understood.”
After Dang Miryeong left, Dang Myeong took out a ledger and drank tea while looking through it.
Watching Dang Myeong examine the entries written in the ledger, Wiji Cheong said, “When my father arrives, you will not see a pleasant sight.”
“I suppose not.”
“......And yet you are telling my father to come?”
“If a son has done wrong, it is only proper that his father apologize.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong stayed silent for a moment before saying, “Why are you doing this? Don’t tell me it’s because of what I said to you. I know that’s nothing more than a pretext. What do you want?”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Dang Myeong looked at him.
“The martial world is a place where the weak are prey to the strong. And the main house is a family that, for generations, has thoroughly punished those who bore grudges against us and drawn blood.”
Dang Myeong looked at Wiji Cheong for a moment, then continued, “Because of that, the main house has earned many grudges throughout the Central Plains. If the main house shows weakness, countless enemies will come looking for us.”
“Did you not say you do not fear enemies?”
“I don’t fear enemies. And I’m also confident that I can wipe out every enemy who enters the main house’s sphere of influence.”
“Then why worry about that?”
“Even if I killed a hundred enemies, even a thousand...... the sacrifice of a single family member would pain me more.”
“Then isn’t it enough not to fight?”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Dang Myeong laughed.
“Ha!”
After letting out a small laugh, Dang Myeong looked at Wiji Cheong.
“Why did you come?”
Flinch!
When Wiji Cheong could not continue speaking, Dang Myeong smiled.
“You came because you thought the main house was a kite with its string cut. Even if we say we don’t want to fight, people like you come, so we have no choice but to fight. That is why......”
Dang Myeong looked at Wiji Cheong with cold eyes.
“We must show that the main house is strong.”
“Is our clan to be the example?”
“Don’t think it unfair. You were the one who picked the fight first, and your clan was the one that revealed hostility. And you were the ones who bared your teeth the most.”
“Are you truly confident? About fighting the main house?”
“Is your clan confident it can survive the main house once it has unleashed its poisons and hidden weapons?”
“......The main house is strong.”
At Wiji Cheong’s words, Dang Myeong looked at him, then rose from his seat.
“Come out.”
“Where?”
“I’ll show you the difference between the main house you saw before and the main house now.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Wiji Cheong looked at him, then rose from his seat.
Dang Myeong took Wiji Cheong and headed toward the training ground. In the open space made for training, there was a stone wall.
Inside the long stone wall, Tang Clan martial artists were training while shedding beads of sweat.
“Great Hero Man Song, may I receive a lesson from you?”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Man Song, who had been behind Wiji Cheong, looked at him in confusion.
“From me?”
“If Young Master Wiji and I spar, I cannot show the main house’s true strength.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Man Song stayed silent for a moment, then nodded, picked up his sword, and stepped into the training yard.
“What you want is for me to go all out, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
“You may be hurt.”
“That is what I want.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Man Song raised his sword.
“Come.”
FWOOSH!
Then Sword Aura surged from Man Song’s sword. It was not the crude Sword Aura Wiji Cheong possessed, but Sword Aura mastered at the peak realm.
FWOOSH!
Looking at the Sword Aura that lit the dark night, Man Song looked at Dang Myeong.
“Come.”
At Man Song’s words, Dang Myeong lightly shook out his body.
RATTLE! RATTLE!
Then a light metallic sound came from Dang Myeong’s body. With that single light motion, he had undone the knots securing the hidden weapons attached to his long robe.
“I will use poison and hidden weapons.”
Flinch!
Man Song bit his lip at the statement that Dang Myeong would use poison, though hidden weapons were one thing.
He had expected it when Dang Myeong called him out here, but...... once Dang Myeong actually said he would use poison......
“Phew! I will experience the Tang Clan’s poison.”
“I will yield the first move.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, Man Song quietly raised his internal energy, then launched himself like lightning.
SWISH!
In an instant, Man Song closed in before Dang Myeong and opened his palm.
RUMBLE!
With a sound like thunder, a fierce wind burst from Man Song’s palm.
He had released his inner power to create wind in preparation for the possibility that Dang Myeong had scattered Poison Powder.
Then Man Song’s sword swung toward Dang Myeong’s waist.
Flinch!
Man Song’s sword stopped. Then, with a stiff face, he lowered his head.
In his eyes, he saw lights glittering on the ground.
‘Needles?’
Needles so small they were almost invisible were embedded in the ground. And...... his foot had stepped on them.